


Delicate Ecosystems

by diamondgore



Series: Overindulged Paranoia [1]
Category: House of X - Fandom, X-Men (Comicverse)
Genre: Apocalypse meddles with the order of things, Gen, Something is Wrong, Xavier is a liar, no spoilers for house of x or dawn of x
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:01:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25219702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/diamondgore/pseuds/diamondgore
Summary: There's something hiding in the dark, but no one knows what it is.
Relationships: Bobby Drake/Warren Worthington III
Series: Overindulged Paranoia [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1827157
Kudos: 8





	Delicate Ecosystems

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not completely satisfied with this, but I thought I'd post it anyway. 
> 
> I guess I wanted to shake up the Krakoa plot, so I thought one way to do it was this.

Most of the morning was spent in Long Island. Bobby hated his hometown but didn’t mind Warren’s as that where untouchable elite had lounged. They had spent their morning at the Worthington Manor cleaning and organizing things. Warren had some sort of intent to sell, and Bobby just needed something to do that wasn’t drink too much beer and find himself passed out inside the Frost’s habitat.

They ended the day with dinner. Warren had seemed apprehensive and nervous throughout it as if he had something stuck in his throat. If it had been anyone else, Bobby would not have picked on the bad language. If Warren wasn’t going to vocalize it, he supposed, it couldn’t be too important. Warren always had a lot on his mind. He couldn’t help but feel but the manor aroused ideas in Warren. 

When it was finally time to leave, they approached a portal in Central Park. The old school had been repurposed into a museum. It was nice to see that it was being used for something good. Bobby stepped into the portal first.

Bobby stepped back through the portal upon realizing that Warren wasn’t coming through. He wondered briefly if Warren got distracted by the weather or his surroundings. But he was surprised to find Warren standing staring at him with a frown on his face. Warren’s large beige wings are tucked behind his back like he was ashamed.

“What’s wrong? Did you forget something at the manor?” Bobby asked carefully. 

Warren laced his fingers together and pressed the palms of his hands together. “Bobby, I don’t wanna go back to Krakoa.”

It didn’t sting. But Bobby can’t comprehend why Warren would rather be in a world where he’s feared, rather than on Krakoa. Warren always had these whims. where he wanted what was the worst for him. He couldn’t quite put his finger on why he was doing it today, though.

“Come on, you’re just feeling a little homesick.” Bobby extended his hand towards Warren. His palm was open, and he would’ve shoved it into Warren’s hand if he was a little ruder. “You’ll feel better once we’re back home.”

“There’s nothing for me on Krakoa, Robert.” Warren stepped forward, closer to Bobby, like he was going to tell a secret. “It might be a home to you, but that’s not my home. The Worthington Manor is.”

Bobby tried to scan Warren’s face for any hint of humor, but it was clear, Warren was serious. His lips were still pressed into a frown, and his gaze was towards the floor. Bobby tilted his head to the side, trying to understand what was going on through Warren’s head.

“There’s something you’re not telling me.” Bobby said cautiously, “Something only you know.” He didn’t usually prod at Warren for answers but if something was keeping him from Krakoa he needed to know. Was there someone blackmailing him from inside the Worthington enterprises?

Warren fidgeted for a moment. “Bobby, I can’t go back there. I’m glad that you’re happy there, but I can’t be. Not when I know I have more important stuff to be done here. I have to keep things here in check.” He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. “I can set up a portal at the manor so you can visit me any time.”

“So you’re not coming back…ever?” Bobby asked, an eyebrow raised. “What do you know?” His voice was sharp, cutting away any emotional distance between them.

“Remember when I died on Orchis?” Warren waited for Bobby to nod. “When I came back, I came back different. I couldn’t tell what it was but something was missing. I knew I had to talk to someone who wasn’t Xavier, someone who would tell me the truth…Because Xavier kept telling me that there was nothing wrong with me. It was all in my head, but I died before. I knew how it felt, and he had not taken it into account. So I went to...”

“Apocalypse.”

“Yes. I know everyone thinks he’s nothing but trouble, but Bobby, Xavier disabled my psi-shields. Apocalypse helped me put them back up. I felt whole again. Xavier wanted to control me, for whatever reason, as if trusting him isn’t enough. He wanted to remove my psi-blocks. ”

Bobby pinched the bridge of his nose. “You’re telling me you’re going to trust Apocalypse, over Xavier? You sound fucking insane, Warren. Apocalypse turned you into that monster—”

“No—he didn’t. I chose to become Archangel. He exploited my vulnerability, but he doesn’t lie.” Warren was defensive. His choice to become Archangel was something painful, but he would have chosen it again, as his fear of death outweighed his fear of evil. He knew the others would find his defense of Apocalypse as odd, but the truth was Apocalypse knew more than he had let on. He was also not one to lie, a moral code he stood by, despite him being evil. Xavier had lied before to the X-Men, as a way of manipulation.

“Bobby. He didn’t tell me much.” Warren sighed running a hand through his hair, as Bobby’s body tensed. “He just told me to be careful around Xavier. Deep down, you gotta know there’s something wrong. We did this before. Genosha. Utopia. We did this before multiple times, and we keep failing, why would Krakoa work? Because we somehow cheated death?”

Swallowing hard, Bobby just down those feelings of paranoia that Warren had aroused inside of him. Warren to some degree was right, there was something weird about Krakoa. There was something wrong, but he had pushed away that anxiety of suffering down so that he could focus on the bigger picture. After all, this was bigger than all of them.

“You’re being paranoid. Warren, Apocalypse is feeding you information to mess with you.” Bobby responded. He can barely hide the tenseness of his voice. “Come home with me.” 

He extended his hand again and grabbed Warren forcibly. He didn’t want to leave his friend behind. Not over some delusion he was having. Shaking his head, Warren pushed away the hand forcibly but not angrily. 

“I am home. New York is home.” Warren gestured to the lush gardens around him. 

It stung, knowing that Bobby wasn’t Warren’s home. That the X-Men weren’t what he considered family. Whatever family Warren had was buried, dead, and gone. They were nothing more than bone and rot. 

Betsy Braddock, at some point, was Warren’s home. But the version of Betsy he loved no longer existed. Unlike most mutants, Warren wasn’t left with hope on Krakoa. It was just remnants of a past he barely belonged to anymore. Xavier’s betrayal was the final nail, proof that Krakoa was no home to him. How could he live with whom he could not trust?

It didn’t change the fact that he still loved Bobby and all the rest. They were just no longer his home. How could they be when he had been dead for a decade? He hardly knew everyone around them. 

Bobby sighed. “Okay.” He would have no dramatic exit to change Warren’s mind. Maybe this was a singular bad decision, if he added resistance Warren wouldn’t change his mind.

“I’ll you soon, then,” Bobby said, extending his hand for a handshake. “Even if you think Krakoa isn’t your home, you can still come visit any time, you know? It’s still home to me.”

Warren gripped his hand, and pulled him into a tight hug, patting Bobby’s back. “I’m not gonna disappear out of your life, soft-serve. I’m still here. You can plant a seed in my backyard if you want.” 

Bobby let out a loud wheeze when Warren squeezed the life out of him. “I know. It just always feels like when you’re away there’s a chance you won’t come back.”

“I’m not the type you can tether down.” 

“I know.” Bobby responded, “You like to fly.”

They stare at each other, and they know. They know something has shifted, and that Warren disturbed the status quo.

Warren smiled, albeit sadly. “I’ll see you soon.”

“Goodbye,” Bobby responded, waving as he stepped into the portal. Looking over his shoulder, he hoped Warren would follow. 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on tumblr [@diamongore](https://diamondgore.tumblr.com), and on twitter [@goremeat! ](https://twitter.com/goremeat)
> 
> Please leave a kudos/comment if you enjoyed !


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